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queerafictionado 's review for:

Hearts and Clubs by Charley Clarke
4.0

3.5/5 stars.
This book was a lighthearted, cute, and quick read. The author did a good job of setting the scene and fleshing out enough of the characters backstories that you knew why they were the way they were. I loved the premise of the story and it was decent, but unfortunately it just kind of missed the mark for me.

The story is told from Spencer’s point of view and I honestly can’t name one thing I liked about her as a character and I’m not sure what Blake, the love interest, saw in her. Blake was very wholesome and sweet and I really liked her. But the author tried to do A LOT in less than 50 pages. It was an attempt at a rivals-to-friends-to-lovers trope and that is just too much for a short story. The resolutions to the conflicts in the story were very abrupt, which is normal for a short story. But they were so extreme that they just weren’t believable. Complete 180s that didn’t mesh with the character or plot line. I honestly probably would have upped my review to 4 stars if the last scene was cut out entirely. It was a bit much and just didn’t fit in with the rest of the story.